On August 5, 1999, at 35 minutes Beijing time, the closing matches of the 20th round of the Chinese Super League were played at the same time. After 90 minutes of intense fighting, Dalian beat Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 at home, while Cangzhou Lions beat Shenzhen 1-0 at home.
At the Dalian Sports Center Stadium, Niu Minghui was the referee and Kim Kyungwon was the VAR referee. Dalian finally welcomed the victory and got rid of the curse of no win for 18 rounds. The change of atmosphere at home seemed to bring good luck to Dalian. Many of the injuries in Shenhua's team may be related to the flu and Kim Yangyang's mistakes. A joke circulated among the fans: "If Jin Yangyang is not here, I am afraid no one will dare to move chopsticks at the Dalian celebration banquet!" "Jin Yangyang's Dalian blood has awakened!" "I want to say, the only one in Dalian is Shenhua!"
Early in the game, Yu Hanchao and Manzocchi each attempted to score in the 23rd minute, but Yu's goal was ruled out due to a teammate's offside. In the 25th minute, after Yan Xinli was cut off, Manzocchi scored a header to give Dalian a 1-0 lead. However, in the 30th minute, after a mistake by Jin Yangyang allowed Manzocchi to steal the ball, an unmarked Lin Liangming easily extended the score to 2-0. the Dalian fans on the bench and the audience boiled over.
In the second half, Manzocchi attempted an overhead shot in the 46th minute. In the 51st minute, Wu Wei's long-distance shot went over the crossbar. In the 63rd minute, Jin Yangyang's header equalized the score for Shenhua, making the score 1-2. Nevertheless, the Dalian players were united as one. In the last minute of the match, Manzocchi suffered cramps and Wu Wei received a yellow card.
In the end, Dalian beat Shenhua 2-1, ending an embarrassing 18-round winless streak. With 15 points, Dalian escaped the relegation zone for the time being, while Shenhua settled for 35 points and third place in the league.
In the other match, Cangzhou Lions won 1-0 at home against Shenzhen. The match was played at Cangzhou Stadium with Zhang Lei as the referee and He Kai as the VAR referee. In the 21st minute, Locadia's goal was nullified because Wang Peng hit the goalkeeper in the first goal. In the second half, Wang Peng broke the deadlock for Cangzhou Lions with a header in the penalty area in the 75th minute. In the end, Cangzhou Lions beat Shenzhen 1-0, accumulating 27 points and ranking 10th in the league. Shenzhen, on the other hand, suffered the end of their 10-round unbeaten streak and remained at the bottom of the table.
